Touchdown Tips for the Best Homegate Party Ever

Thank you NFL for sponsoring this post. Can’t wait for my next Homegate!

Who’s excited about playoffs and ready for The Big Game coming up? ME! Are you, too? Which team are you rooting for?

I grew up in and around Portland, Oregon, where we have no local NFL team. So my team loyalties tend to lie with the New England Patriots (hubby and I went to college in Boston) and the Kansas City Chiefs (hubby was born in KC). With both teams making the playoffs this year, it’s been quite an EXCITING season!

If you love football and don’t have a local team like we do, or if you just aren’t able to travel to tailgate, throwing a fun homegate party is where it’s at.

Touchdown Tips for the Best Homegate Party Ever

I am so excited to be partnering with the NFL to help give you some ideas that you can use to throw the best homegate party ever!

Besides inviting fun friends over to help cheer on your favorite team, there are three essential elements to throwing a fun & fabulous homegate:

Team fan gear

Delicious homegating food

Yummy homegating drinks

Team Fan Gear

One of the best ways to show your true team spirit is to load up before the Big Game with fan gear.

We love collecting team t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, coasters, mugs, blankets, and more. All of the KC Chiefs gear you see in these photos are fromNFLShop.com.

We love team gear that we can use even when the game’s not on. The KC Chiefs blanket you see on the couch? Our kids and dog love snuggling up with it for everyday TV watching.

Homegating Food Bliss

While I enjoy a good game, y’all know: my heart belongs to the FOOD that’s involved with any party.

When throwing a homegate, have fun with it and bring on food that celebrates your team’s regional cuisine.

What’s Kansas City known for? KC BBQ of course!

These beautiful Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs with homemade KC-style barbecue sauce were the perfect way to bring some KC BBQ into our party!

BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos are also an excellent way to celebrate. These are inspired by the loaded nachos served at the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium!

Hot dogs are a stadium staple, so at our homegate, I simply wrapped them up in cute food bags in our team colors and tied them with baker’s twine. Get creative with bags, boxes, tissue paper that you already have around the house in your team’s colors!

And, because we’re in Oregon wine country where cheese & meat boards are all the rage at every event, I had to serve some cheese & charcuterie at our homegate party.

Luckily, NFLShop.com has these beautiful, well-made cheese and charcuterie boards that you can find with your team’s logo on them.

I love them so much. The large Chiefs cheese board has a handle and rope that makes it a beautiful wall display in our kitchen – a great way to showcase team spirit on days other than game day.

Homegate Snacks

Snacks (or Snacky Snacks, as we always call them in our house) are essential for any homegate party.

Load up team logo mugs and glasses with popcorn, cheese straws, nuts, and candies.

Homegate Drinks

To wash down all of the yummy homegate food, you’ll need some party drinks.

KC has a great microbrew scene, so beer is definitely on tap for this homegate party.

If your team is from an area that has some tasty local brews, be sure to serve those in these hefty NFLShop.com mugs.

Again, living in Oregon wine country, we don’t just drink beer and cocktails at our football parties. There is always wine, too. NFLShop.com has you covered with really sturdy logo wine glasses, too!

Finally, create one signature drink with either local flavors and/or team colors as a finishing touchdown to your homegate party.

Strawberry Lemonade Margaritas with Straw-Ber-Rita

Since the KC Chiefs’ colors are red and gold, I whipped up these Strawberry Lemonade Margaritas with Straw-Ber-Rita.

They are made with fruit punch, seltzer water, and Straw-Ber-Ritas. So refreshing, and I love that the colors of this drink represent our Chiefs!

Have you ever tried Lime-A-Ritas or Straw-Ber-Ritas before? They are so tasty! I’ve got the recipe for my Strawberry Lemonade Margaritas below. To find out more about Lime-A-Rita be sure to follow them on Instagram @lime_a_rita and check out their Pinterest page @Lime-A-Rita.

Strawberry Lemonade Margarita

Strawberry Lemonade Margaritas are refreshing sips for your football homegate party - or any party!

Such a fun post! I’m not a huge fan of any particular team, but throwing a Super Bowl party is one of my favorite parties to put together! I’m definitely going to mix-up up a batch of those Strawberry Beritas ;)Hillary Harper recently posted..How to Make the Best Paella

First off… I’ve never heard of the term homegatw and think it’s just brilliant! I’ve never been much of a sports fan, but have always wanted to tailgate for the party! Second, this is the prettiest football party I’ve ever seen!

All of the food at your party looks soooo good!! The ribs and nachos look AWESOME! But now that the Patriots are in the Super Bowl, you’ll have to come to my Super Bowl Homegate party :) :)Sues recently posted..Broccoli Soup with Sauteed Mushrooms

Has the makings of a great superbowl party for sure. Normally I don’t really care much about sports other than the awesome food that goes along with them, but this year my city is in the superbowl and my family and friends are in a frenzy over the game so I kinda care a little more.Jenna recently posted..Skinny Broccoli Cheese Soup with Hidden Veggies